Other Issues

Grant Funding

Grant funding may require accounting and compliance different from normal nonprofit operations.

• The terms of the grant determine the accounting and compliance required.  Read the grant announcements, award document, and other grantor information available to establish the systems and controls appropriate for the grant.
• Federal grants may require rate agreements for overhead (an indirect rate agreement).
• The award period of the grant may differ from the nonprofit’s fiscal year.  The financial system and closing schedule needs to be adjusted so final financial information is available by the grant reporting due date.
• Modify procurement procedures so they are appropriate for all grant funding.  This allows one set of controls for procurements rather than a different set of controls for each grant.

Nonprofit Staff

Programmatic and content staff of the nonprofits may have little or no experience with the business aspects of a nonprofit.

• Programmatic and content staff need basic training on the business aspects of the nonprofit.  This basic training will provide a foundation upon which the internal control training will be based.
• Control procedures should be written in simple and non-technical language to increase the compliance by programmatic and content staff.